On the most basic level, fashion is important to me because it makes me happy.

Among
my interests are design and aesthetics, and fashion feeds both of
these. I love line, silhouette, color, fabric, and construction. I love
the look of a well-fitted garment. And I love combining garments to
make a statement.

Fashion
is my way of expressing to the world that I am me. I love that one day,
I can "be" preppy, the next day sophisticated, the next day plain, and
the next day glamourous. It’s the easiest thing to change about your
appearance. Plus it’s non-invasive…a double plus on my list.

I find it intrinsically pleasing to dress up–and I dress for myself, first and foremost.

An added benefit, however, is the visual first impression that you give
to others. It’s been said that first impressions are mainly
visual–that is, they depend less on what you say and more on how you
visually present yourself. While I don’t like this, my experience has
shown this to be all too accurate.

Even when I’m shopping, for
instance, I get radically different treatment from salespeople. If I’m
dressed in flip flops, jeans, and a t-shirt, I often have to hunt
salespeople down in order to make a purchase. If, on the other hand,
I’m dressed in heels, a slim pencil skirt, and a nice top, I often
can’t shop in peace, receiving multiple offers for help.

I dress for myself, which means I consistently dress with panache and a certain formality. I have had the experience of going to Bailey Banks & Biddle (a jewelry store of some note) with a friend who was a frequent customer there. The friend was a professional artist, and was wearing jeans, a nondescript top, and (I think) sneakers. The salespeople ignored her and made a beeline for me. At six feet tall, she had trouble getting any attention at all from the salespeople.

As far as fashion making an impression on my life … hmmm. Not fashion, so much, as clothing and style, have formed the framework of my life and coloured every aspect of it. I taught myself to sew at six, when I was going to encyclopediae to look up historic and ethnic clothing, since those were the only sources I could find at the time; I have hundreds of yards of fabric, and dozens of hats. Most of the choices I’ve made in my life have had something to do with my connection to clothing and style; the historic clothing I’ve made has brought me acting engagements which I would never have otherwise had. My day job basically funds my passion; I have a constantly growing library (over 400 volumes related to fashion history) which needs space, which dictates where I can live … it really does affect everything I do from day to day.

3.
Trisha | December 1st, 2005 at 9:49 pm

iad2la, you made an interesting point in your blog post–that personal style isn’t easy to just Define. Indeed, for many, personal style is not a simple trait that can be defined into one pre-set category. Preppy. Glamourous. Minimalist. Punk. Utilitarian. Feminine. Masculine. Or the ever-popular all-encompassing “Eclectic.”

I think it’s easier to define your personal style at a specific point in time, but that the concept becomes more amorphous as the time frame increases.